ELL Student Speaking WIDA Level

Following the first few weeks of working with T, I've determined what I believe is her WIDA level in speaking. Out of the 5 possible levels, I have found she is a 4. I've determined this by using can-do descriptors and comparing them to our interactions and conversations that we have had. The level 4 speaking tier states that students should be able to take a stance and defend it, compare and contrast points of view, explain content related issues, and respond to slang. Level 5, however, states students should be able to engage in debates using technical language, give multimedia oral presentations, and explain metacognitive strategies for solving problems. During our meetings, T has created a pros and cons list between our two presidential candidates, and also discussed her reasoning for supporting one of the two for her own reasons. We have also held causal conversations on what we did over the past week, containing occasional slang or casual terms that was easy for T to discuss with. However, she is approaching level 5, as she has told me she presented multiple PowerPoint presentations for classes, but her ability to fully debate over a topic using high level vocabulary is not so direct. She engages in reading highly advanced books for an early high school student, specifically a Dan Brown novel, and in it keeps tabs on words she doesn't know so she can research what they mean and know exactly what the author is describing. This can in turn effect her ability to speak professionally in public and in debating topics and very high levels. By reviewing this, I can determine as an educator to focus on her development of vocabulary and academic language to assist in her oral and presentation skills.